Why Quantifying Customer Value is so Hard Part 2

by John Porter, CTO and Co-Founder for DecisionLink

This blog is the second in the series on why quantifying customer value is so hard.  (If you missed the first in the series you can read it here)

The key topic here is understanding and audience.  One of the biggest challenges a Business Value Consultant (BVC) or Value Engineer (VE) faces effectively communicating the customer value quantification of your solutions.  An old adage says “it very easy to make the simple complex, but simplifying complexity is a true art” and let’s face it most of us are consultants and engineers not artists.  We focus on spreadsheets and data to convey very detailed and complex topics and many times we are the only one in the room who can explain.

Herein lies the issue!  In most cases, the collective “we” (BVC, VE, SE, etc.) is not in the room when the real decision is made to buy and are completely dependent on our business sponsor to sell on our behalf.  If our buyer, who is not an expert in our solution or the value it brings them, is ineffective in positioning the need for our solution to solve the business problem and demonstrating the payback the customer will achieve, the chance of the dreaded “no decision” is very likely.

I pose these questions:

1. How have you simplified how your sellers and ultimately your buyer’s ability to communicate your business case during the buy cycle?
2. How many benefits / areas of value do you find effective as focus for engaging customers?